Coco fanfic-To Be Forgotten

The Whole Story! (Well, Mostly)

Miguel's POV

"When I took the guitar, I didn't actually go anywhere. At least, not right away." I paused, wondering how best to explain. "I was cursed, so I could see all the skeletons visiting, and they could see me, and—and touch me." I shivered, remembering how scary it was to fall into a grave, and to be rescued by someone who looked at me like I was a monster. "But no one living could. I, uhm. I actually ran right through you and Mamá—" I glanced up at Papá, wincing at his horrified expression—"but it was like I was a ghost or something."

Mi papá frowned down at me, the wrinkles on his forehead heavy. "Mijo, that's—I'm so sorry." He wrapped his other arm around me, and I realized I was breathing shakily already, at what was arguably one of the easier and least terrifying parts of that night. Still, I clung to him for a moment, letting his warmth and the weight of his arms remind me that I wasn't still invisible, and that he could see, hear, and touch me again, unlike in some of the nightmares I had.

When I felt a bit calmer, I pulled back, forcing a smile onto my face. "But then I met Papá Julio, and Tíos Oscar, Felipe, Victoria, and Rosita. They brought me over this huuuuge bridge, made of marigold petals, to this big building where Mamá Imelda was."

"Why did Mamá Imelda stay behind?" Abuela questioned, seeming a bit hurt that her abuela didn't visit.

"I kind of had her foto still, from the ofrenda..." I trailed off, remembering how there was practically steam coming out of Mamá Imelda's ears. "Mamá Imelda was furious she couldn't cross over, actually. She even broke a worker's computer." I recalled, wondering if they'd had to pay for it to be repaired.

"But it was only then that I found out I was cursed, and that I needed a family member's blessing to return to the Land of the Living by sunrise. And Mamá Imelda was willing, but only on the condition that I give up music, which I thought was completely unfair at the time."

I stopped for a second, mentally imagining with growing horror what would have happened if I did give up music. 'Papá Héctor would be...gone. I'd never have met him, or discovered anything about Cruz, and Mamá Coco would never have seen her papá again.' I pictured the way Mamá Coco ran into Papá Héctor's arms, how their grito had been so loud it had hurt my head. None of that would have been possible without music.

"Why sunrise?" Rosa asked, bringing me out of my head. "I mean, Día de los Muertos technically ends at midnight. And would you have just been, like, a ghost for forever without the blessing, or—ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing her arm where Tía Carmen had hit her with a glare. "I was just wondering. I figured—"

"It's okay," I interrupted before she could get slapped again. As humorous as it was to see her being scolded for once, it was a good, if somewhat dark question. "I would have become a skeleton, actually, like everyone else in la Tierra de los Muertos. Actually, by the end of the night, I could see all of my bones, which was...really freaky."

"Mijo, that's..." Mi mamá trailed off, apparently not sure how to finish the sentence.

I chuckled, adding, "I almost fainted when I first saw my finger bone; Papá Julio had to catch me and slap some sense into me."

The tension in the room seemed to ease at my words, and mi mamá gave me a small smile. Even mi papá laughed a bit, if the slight shaking I felt was to be believed. Almost fainting was embarrassing, and I was sure I'd be teased about it at some point, but I figured with what was to come that I needed to share as many funny moments as possible.

"She actually gave me her blessing with the condition, and I took the blessed marigold. But as soon as I came back here, I took the guitar again, and ended up right back in the same room before everyone left."